PZ Cussons: ‘No rush to go shopping’ for further acquisitions until ‘right brands’ available
PZ Cussons has said it is “not in any rush” to pick up further brands as the Carex maker saw quarterly sales rise.
After snapping up the baby goods brand Childs Farm, PZ Cussons was in “no rush” to add more firms to its portfolio, the consumer goods giant’s CEO Jonathan Myers told CityA.M. on Thursday morning.
However, Myers added that when the “right brands” revealed themselves, PZ Cussons would “absolutely” look to add them to the portfolio.
For the 2022 financial year, the soap-maker saw pre-tax profit drop 8.7 per cent to £65.3m while sales were depressed 1.7 per cent to £592.8m.
However, over the past quarter, there was like-for-like sales growth of 7.1 per cent, driven by strong price increases.
Myers also hinted that Child’s Farm would be expanding into further international markets, with PZ Cussons examining “quite a few opportunities” after being “really pleased” with the progress of the brand.
Shrinking margins posed a key challenge for the company, against the backdrop of increasing pressure on consumers and supply chains, according to Alex Smith, analyst at Third Bridge.
The UK was one of the areas Smith pinpointed as likely to “experience significant profitability pressures,” for the London-listed firm.
While the firm’s Carex brand saw a pandemic boom as consumers rushed to buy hand sanitiser and soaps, Smith dubbed the flurry as now “over”.
“Our experts say that PZ Cussons probably owns too many brands,” he added. “It should trim its portfolio by selling off underperforming brands and increase its breadth in three to four essential categories through acquisitions.”